


Just Between You and Me

by MythGirl02



Series: In This House We Write Body Positivity [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: Body Image, Found Family, Gen, Insecurities, Pranking, also has some deep moments, gold deserves it tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:33:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24321349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythGirl02/pseuds/MythGirl02
Summary: United in revenge against Gold, Emerald and Yellow are unstoppable.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: In This House We Write Body Positivity [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542676
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Just Between You and Me

When Yellow was woken up by someone knocking on her door, she wasn't sure who to expect. With the exception of Blue, everyone she knew called ahead to say they'd be stopping by, and Blue was never up this early.

She didn't bother changing out of her pajama shirt, which was hanging down to her knees and covering her shorts. If this was just someone from the city, they'd probably already seen her in pajamas. She really didn't care.

"Coming!" she called, halfway to the door. Whoever was there was impatient.

Knowing that, she was only marginally surprised to find Emerald on her porch, about to knock again. "There you are," he said, looking her over. "Oh. Did I wake you? It's already eleven."

Maybe it wasn't as early as she thought. "Kinda? I was gonna get up soon." Probably. "Come on in, I'll just run and change. Make yourself comfortable."

She dressed quickly, tossing on the first shirt she could find and her favorite jeans. Her hair wasn't too awful; she'd just pull it back again. When she returned, Emerald was already on her couch upside-down. She smiled, loosely crossing her arms. He looked up at her. "Took you long enough, sleepyhead."

"What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"Let's call it a late birthday present." He rolled off the couch backwards, landing on his feet and turning to face her. "Also, Crys said you were the person to come to if I'm mad at Gold and want to get revenge."

Her eyes narrowed. "What'd he do this time?" With Kanto and Johto being so close, not to mention Pibo being related to ChuChu, she was well aware of the kind of chaos Gold could brew.

"One too many short jokes." Ah. "What do you think? Want to help?"

"I'm in the same boat as you. Of course I'm in." She glanced outside; it was a bit overcast, but altogether a good day out. "Just in case he decides to drop in unannounced, let's go out to the forest."

She tossed a couple snacks and water bottles in her bag. Her sketchbook was already in there, since most of her sketching happened out in nature. Maybe if they needed a visual, it'd be useful.

She led the way, naturally, taking the path to the clearing she loved. It was her second-favorite place, the first being the river bank, but the clearing was a bit harder to find. Even if Gold came and decided to try the forest, they'd be undisturbed. Emerald let his pokemon out, allowing them to wander like Yellow's did. It was a safe area, especially if they stuck close-by. Team Rocket's experimental pokemon hadn't been a danger to the forest for years.

Right in the middle of the clearing, nearly splitting it in two, was a tree that had fallen years before Yellow knew her way around. It made for perfect natural seating, and was actually quite comfortable to sleep against. She may or may not know that from experience.

"Okay," she said, sitting down on the fallen tree. "What kind of revenge were you thinking?"

"Literally anything, I'm not picky." He swung his legs a bit, taking a moment to think. "Oh, I almost forgot, you're an adult. How does that feel?"

"Not as different as I thought," she said after some contemplation. She'd had a couple years to get used to it. "I'm still the same short person I was, just a different standing in the world? If that makes sense?" She shrugged it off. "It's just a label, really. It doesn't really bother me much."

He nods once, then puts his game face on. "We need to start thinking of a plan. It has to be good, but he can't tie it back to us."

She flashed a sly grin. "Why do you think Crys directed you to me? He's never once suspected me." From her bag, she took out her pencil, twirling it in her fingers. "Something bigger than April Fools… We could adjust the height of everything in his room so it's taller, then he'd feel shorter."

That got Emerald's attention. "That could work, but what about getting in?"

"Gold's mom knows me well enough, she won't say anything about us preparing a 'surprise' for him." She thought for a minute, then snapped her fingers. "It'll look more authentic if I brought orange juice."

"Orange juice?"

She nodded. "I make it myself, and he always cleans it out when he's in town. Only this time…" She leaned over and whispered her plan in his ear. "What do you think?"

Given that Emerald couldn't stop laughing, she figured he was on board. She liked hearing him laugh. She considered him one of the more serious of the dexholders, so it was nice to see him enjoying himself. "When are we doing this?" he asked, his laughter finally tapering off.

"Pretty sure he's going to the Sevii Islands with Silver for a day or two after tomorrow, we can go then." Brushing her bangs out of her face, she added, "You're staying with me until then."

He froze. "That really isn't-"

"Don't bother arguing, it's my pleasure. You're essentially my brother anyway, and it's not like I don't have the room."

"You're sure? Wilton won't mind?"

She smiled, pulling the two apples she brought out of her bag and tossing one to him. "Even if he did mind, which he wouldn't, he's in Alola with some friends on a fishing trip. Nothing to worry about, alright?"

"...Okay. I guess." He bit into the apple, juice running down his fingers. "Give us more time to put everything together, anyway."

She smiled into her apple. Even if he didn't directly say it, he appreciated it. She wasn't kidding about him being like her brother. They got to know each other a bit over the past couple of years through Crys, and a couple run-ins later, they more or less talked on a regular basis.

It was nice to have a real friendship outside of the Kanto and Johto regions. Even though he was four years younger, he was cool. She wasn't quite a mentor to him- he had Crys for that- but she loved being his friend.

"While we wait, is there anything you want to do while you're here?" There wasn't too too much to do around Viridian City unless you liked nature, especially on the outskirts like her. It was a five minute walk into the city, then an additional ten to get to the heart of it. She figured she was the perfect distance where she could easily run out to get groceries. "You could probably challenge Green at the gym, but I don't know if he's there or if the hologram is."

"Hologram? Wouldn't that just make him easier to beat?"

She shook her head. "You'd think so. His hologram beat me and ChuChu easily." That wasn't one of her best moments.

He considered it. "Nah, I don't think I'm prepared enough. I don't mind if we just hang out or something."

Running through the list of things to do, she smiled sheepishly. "Actually, we probably need to run to the store for a few things. Are you okay with that? I could probably go on my own if you'd rather."

"I'll go. I'm already here." He finished off his apple quickly; she was barely halfway done with hers. "You've got compost or whatever back at your house, right?"

"That's right." She stood up and stretched. "I know we weren't out here for long, but let's start back so we can get going. I'm starting to get tired out here, don't wanna doze off."

"You can't be serious, you just woke up!" He shook his head as they started back on the trail. "You must get like fifteen hours of sleep."

Well, he wasn't entirely wrong. She finished her apple on the way back, both cores going into her compost pile. "What do you think we need for this? Raising everything in his room an inch or two isn't exactly easy." She put her bag back on its hook, hanging her hat next to it.

"At least a little plastic or wood and some paint." The second one she had covered. "Hey, why do you only wear your hat out in the forest?"

Not the first time she'd been asked that. "I burn easily." Ironic, given that nature was the source of her powers. And from personal experience, she knew that sunburns and the scars her quicker healing left her were not a good mix. "Which reminds me, I'm running low on sunscreen."

She scribbled out a quick note and posted it on her back door in case their pokemon wandered back to the house; she didn't want them to worry. The road from her house to the heart of Viridian City was more well-worn than the forest path thanks to passing trainers. She herself didn't get many visitors, but if anyone from the city wanted to, well, she wasn't too far away.

"So, plastic or wood, mac and cheese, what else? Oh, and sunscreen." She couldn't think of anything right off the bat. Emerald's mind was more creative in these technical ways than hers, so he'd probably think of more.

"Beats me." He walked with his hands behind his head, his hair loose. She pulled her ponytail in front of her, comparing her hair to his. Her blonde was a bit more, well, yellow; his was duller. Then again, she supposed that their friends were somewhat right in that they looked kind of similar. Ruby pointed it out first, having some sort of possible relation to each other. They were both pretty certain they weren't related, but, well, it was fun ot pretend sometimes. "How's the job going?"

She smiled to herself, dropping her ponytail. "It's fun! I really like working with the kids." She never knew she could be a teacher, but as the only person who knew the forest like the back of her hand, it made sense for her to teach a nature safety course at the trainers' school. Really, she was just glad the students paid attention. She didn't want anyone to have a repeat of what happened to her when she was nine. "Anything interesting going on with you?"

He took a minute to think. "Not really. I kinda like it that way. It's a lot less stressful than the world ending again." His arms straightened in a lazy stretch. "Might challenge the Sinnoh battle frontier or something."

"Sounds like fun." She wouldn't last a minute in any battle frontier. Battling just wasn't her forte. "Think you can make it all the way through?"

"With my team? Of course!" A cocky smile slipped onto his face. "I won't even need Crys's help arranging a team this time, we've got it in the bag."

She'd seen some of the footage from his battles with the frontier brains in the weeks after that battle. He worked surprisingly well with pokemon he didn't own. If she didn't know better, she would've thought he had the same connection to pokemon she did. "You'll have to let me know how it goes if you end up challenging them." They were starting in towards the heart now. She turned down towards the general store. Chances were they wouldn't find what they needed in a PokeMart.

A bell on the door rang out as they entered. The owner, Lorraine, spared her a quick wave before returning to her conversation with a customer. She picked up a basket just in case they needed one, tucking her reusable bag in it. She knew the layout of the store well; Lorraine and her husband hadn't changed it since they opened it. "Let's see...hardware supplies are closest, so let's check there first."

They'd need something sturdy enough to raise his bed and likely a few other fixtures. Foam padding would just squish down to its regular size. "We could cut this down," Emerald pointed out, nodding to some plywood. "Sceptile could probably do it."

She considered this, then nodded, adding a few pieces to her basket. "We shouldn't need too much if we're using the entire thing. So now all we need is sunscreen and mac and cheese." Both were easy to find; this wasn't the first time she'd gotten either from there.

Lorraine was waiting for them at the register when they finished. "Yellow, I don't believe I've met your friend!" she said, ringing up their items.

Yellow and Emerald exchanged a quick look. "He's actually my brother." Lorraine looked a bit confused for a moment before Emerald pulled his hair back, imitating her ponytail. Realization dawned in her eyes. "He's been traveling in Hoenn the last few years, he even beat their battle frontier."

"Isn't that marvelous! My niece is looking into challenging the frontier."

"Well, it's not easy to defeat all of the frontier brains." Yellow chuckled a little at his slight cockiness. "They're all tough, but as long as she works at it, your niece can do it."

Lorraine nodded sagely. "I'll be sure to pass the message along, she'll be glad to have the advice." She handed Yellow the bag, taking the payment. "Tell your uncle that Dan and I say hello!"

"Will do!" The bell chimed again as they left, and almost immediately after the door closed she dissolved into giggles.

"She seemed nice," Emerald said, cracking a smile. "Didn't even assume I was a kid. She really bought that you're my sister?"

She shrugged lightly, the bag swinging a little as they walked. "She and Dan have only lived here for five years, they wouldn't really know otherwise if you were in Hoenn. And a lot of the people here have known me forever, even if they knew me as an infant they'd still believe me if I told them we're related."

She watched as a hint of surprise registered in his face. It sometimes astounded her, too, but these were the people who looked after her when she was little and her uncle was away. They trusted her completely, and the feeling was mutual.

Emerald stuck his hand into the bag, taking out the mac and cheese. "We're not gonna let this go to waste, are we?"

"Definitely not. That's dinner." Funny that she was already thinking about dinner at, what, one in the afternoon? Usually she just tossed something together last-minute. This was something a Responsible Adult would do. She was proud to count herself among those ranks. It wasn't often she could. "We're gonna have ourselves a fun night tonight!"

"Hell yeah we are!" He pumped a fist in the air, reminding her a bit of Red and Gold, more specifically their boundless enthusiasm. She could see why Emerald and Gold kept in touch.

The rest of the walk home was quite nice; mostly they just caught up on the happenings of their friends. Red, Blue, and Green weren't really doing anything out of the ordinary for themselves, just the usual training or traveling and having fun. Wally was doing well. Ruby apparently got Sapphire and Lisia together, which somehow resulted in even more flirting.

"It's so obnoxious!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Please tell me that I don't have to listen to you flirt with anyone."

While there was one person she _could_ flirt with, she wouldn't when Emerald was around. Actually, she wouldn't on a regular day, if only because she wasn't the best at flirting. "Don't worry, you're good."

"Good. I don't know if I could deal with it from you, too."

Emerald's pokemon were waiting for them with ChuChu when they got back. ChuChu gave the team a look like see? I told you they'd be back. Yellow smiled over at them, putting the bag down on the table and grabbing her hat off its hook. "Wait, where are you going?" Emerald asked, peering over from greeting his pokemon.

"Just checking up on the forest. You don't have to come if you don't want to. I'll be back in about half an hour." This time, he didn't follow, choosing to stay back with his team. ChuChu hopped into her arms, climbing up her shoulders until she was on top of Yellow's hat. This was just a daily check-in she did off the trails, making sure everything was okay. Maybe it wasn't completely necessary, but it calmed her nerves a bit.

By the time she circled back, she could hear the sounds of Emerald and his pokemon training. As far as she could tell, it was mostly strategy work; the noises paused and resumed every half minute or so. She stayed a bit away and watched. This was never her thing, not unless stunning a pokemon instead of making it faint counted as strategy. Still, it was easy to tell just how much thought went into his strategy. Maybe she'd watch if he challenged Sinnoh's battle frontier.

She emerged fully from the forest as he started wrapping up. "Want me to heal them?" she asked, well aware that she startled him. They'd only been working for half an hour, but it was obvious that they had been working hard.

"If that's okay." It's not like she minded. She healed them one at a time, her powers warming her hands. It didn't take her too long, nor did it drain her as much as it used to. It helped that they weren't too injured, but she'd also found that the older she got, the less tired she became. One of the perks of adulthood, she supposed.

Emerald looked at her with something akin to awe. She tilted her head. "What?"

"That never stops being cool." She'd gotten that comment a few times over the years. It wasn't too amazing to her, not when she'd grown so used to it. His stomach growled, and he frowned down at it. "Any way we can start dinner?"

Even though it was still early, she nodded. Given that she'd only had the one apple today, she was pretty hungry, too. "I'll start it if you want to get settled in the extra room." She hung her hat up on its hook, filling a pot with water and putting it on the stove. Emerald passed by her a minute later on his way to the room across from hers. She looked down at ChuChu. "He should stay over more often. I haven't felt this productive in years."

Of course, ChuChu laughed at her. She laughed at herself, too.

Once the pasta went in, she took out a bag of shredded cheese. Since they'd be using the cheese powder anyway, this was the best alternative. Tasted so much better, too.

She was just starting to stir it when Emerald came back in. He took one look at her and laughed just a touch. "I'd offer to help, but I don't think I can reach."

"Don't worry about it. It's just about done." The one good thing about boxed mac and cheese was that it was quick to make. "Actually, if you want to get dinner together for our pokemon, Dody and the others should be on their ways back. The containers are in the pantry." They always came back for the evening, even if some of them preferred to sleep outside.

She heard him rummage around before taking out the containers. "Did you make their food yourself?" he asked, already starting to prepare some of it.

"Yeah, Crys and Green helped me figure some of it out. I mean, Gravvy usually just eats rocks and Kitty eats honey and nectar from the forest, but for the others I make food to keep them healthy!" She ran through his team mentally. "So...Mantine will probably eat the same food as Ratty and Dody? And Sudowoodo can have berries with ChuChu…" She thought some more. "What do Sceptile and Dusclops eat?"

"Literally anything. Sceptile usually just uses photosynthesis, though."

That made some sense. "And Snorlax will probably eat anything, too, right? I think Red mentioned Snor being like that." She drained the pasta before mixing in the cheese. It looked so much more appetizing without the powder.

Emerald cleared his throat. "Actually, I think Snorlax may have already gotten into the compost pile."

She wrinkled her nose and peered out the window; lo and behold, half of the compost pile was gone. "Ah, well. At least it went to good use." She stifled a small laugh as her sentence ended. Honestly, she should've expected as much. Snorlax were well known for eating anything, even it it was rotten. "Ready to eat?"

"Yes, please, that looks so good."

The rest of the afternoon and evening unrolled lazily. Details were finalized for their trek to New Bark Town; dinner was finished and dishes were cleaned; everything was perfectly calm. It was nice, having someone to share the house with who was more her age than her uncle. While Blue would come over sometimes, she almost never stayed the night and Crys wasn't really big on sleepovers either, so Yellow was out of people to ask.

They were curled up on the couch watching reruns of an old sitcom they both liked by the end of the night. Yellow was already exhausted, but that was nothing new. It was only ten o'clock and she hadn't even been awake for twelve hours, but she was ready to drop at any second.

"How long did it take?" Emerald asked when the show cut to a commercial. She blinked over at him, momentarily stunned (and not just because ChuChu was curled up next to her). "To get used to your height."

Ah. "To tell the truth? I don't think I'm used to it." She shrugged, muting the television and snuggling further under a blanket in one motion. "I'm twenty and I'm still not five feet, the only reason the people in Viridian City don't think I'm a kid is because they've known me since I was a kid. But, I don't know. I at least got used to the short jokes and not being nearly as tall as Blue and Red and Green. But not being able to go somewhere else without being mistaken for a twelve-year-old? That doesn't get easier."

He made a noise, his eyes not going off of the television. "I know. It's just...infuriating. I'm never going to get taller than five feet, and I'm definitely not getting there anytime soon. I'm tired of always being called a kid! I'm sixteen!"

She shifted again, peering over at him cautiously. "I'd tell you it gets better, but that'd be a lie." Given how many times she'd been mistaken for someone younger, even by the younger dexholders, it was surprising she wasn't more bitter.

"But you're able to be yourself with your friends. I can't- I don't feel like I'm completely comfortable with Ruby and Sapphire and Wally. How do you- we're kinda the same, but you take everything in stride."

Her mouth opened and shut. "I really don't," she found herself saying, surprising herself. Her hand drifted down to ChuChu, stroking her fur. "I mean, I've spent most of the last few years in the forest. I'm still on guard with mostly everyone." She wasn't even fully aware of that, but it made a lot of sense. With the other Kanto dexholders, she tried to be stronger than she was. With Silver and Gold, it was constantly being more mature than she appeared. Really, she was only completely transparent with Crys and Emerald. "So I don't think I'm the best person to ask. Maybe check back in a few years."

Her sentence dissolved into a yawn, earning a tiny smile from Emerald. "Maybe we should get to bed."

"No, no, it's still early. Look, this is my favorite episode." Before the title credits even finished, though, she could feel her eyelids growing heavier. She slid further down on the couch, curling up so she didn't take up much room. Maybe she'd just rest her eyes for a while…

**X-X-X**

Everything was a frenzy the next morning. Emerald woke to the sunlight, meaning he woke up pretty early, but somehow Yellow still slept. Once she was finally up- thanks to a wake-up call from ChuChu- they ate a quick breakfast and went on their way.

It would take about an hour total to get to New Bark Town, but at least they didn't have much to bring. Yellow had even suggested they surprise Crys at Professor Oak's lab if she wasn't busy. Emerald had a feeling that she'd make the time if she knew it was them.

"Gold's going to flip out when he gets back," he snickered when they were halfway through Tohjo Falls. Mantine was nice enough to give them both a ride. He couldn't get over imagining the look that would be on Gold's face.

"I know we wanted this to be untraceable, but I think we should make an exception to let him know who he's dealing with," she added, unable to hide a mischievous smile that he knew for a fact she almost never used with anyone else. "He won't be making short jokes again anytime soon, and if he does, we'll hit him with Jolly Ranchers in his shower head!"

The mere thought of that made them both burst out laughing, carrying them through with light conversation through the rest of the Falls. Once they set foot in New Bark Town, it was game time.

Emerald hadn't ever been to Gold's house- Gold usually came to Hoenn instead- but obviously Yellow had. She knew exactly where she was going. His mom answered the door shortly after she rang the bell. "Oh, Yellow! What a surprise." Her gaze shifted to Emerald. "And… I don't believe we've met, but you must be Emerald, right? Gold's shown me some pictures of you and your friends." Okay, that stunned him a bit. "What brings the two of you here?"

As they'd discussed, Yellow took over. "We know that Gold's away with Silver, so we wanted to set up a surprise for him, if that's alright, ma'am."

Given his mom's warm smile, she was alright with it. "Please, I've told you, call me Selene. Come on in, you already know where Gold's room is. Can I get you two anything?"

"No, thanks, but…" Yellow dug into her bag for a second. "I know you like this tea, so we thought we'd save you a trip to Viridian City."

Emerald didn't know anything about this part, but Gold's mom seemed touched. That was good, right? "Thank you both! I was just running low, too. I'll leave you to your surprise."

"What was that for?" Emerald whispered to Yellow as she led him through the house, greeting the pokemon they encountered along the way.

Something pensive made its way into her tone. "She's the closest thing I have to a mom, so sometimes I'll come just to talk to her. I thought I'd do something nice for her as thanks for that."

Huh. That was something else they had in common, he supposed.

That was pushed from the forefront of his mind when he saw how neat Gold's room was. He'd been expecting a disaster area like the orphanage in Violet City used to be. Somehow, his room managed to have no clutter.

"Perfect!" Yellow exclaimed, shutting the door most of the way. "We might not even need to cut the wood much."

Sceptile would be ready if they did. He took a look around; all they needed to raise was the bed, desk, and bookshelf. Surprisingly easy, but… "How are we going to lift the bookshelf?"

She froze. "Um." She looked over at it. It was definitely too heavy for one or even both of them to lift. "Oh! Do you think Mr. Mime could help?"

Oh, duh. He called Mr. Mime out. "Wanna help us with our prank on Gold?" Thankfully, they got a positive response. "Okay, we're set."

With Mr. Mime's help, it barely took them any time to raise everything and paint the wood. Unless they were looking for the wood, they couldn't tell it was there. "This is gonna be great!" Yellow said, giving him a high-five. "Now, the finishing touch."

She took out the bottle of "orange juice" and left it on his desk. Thanks to a NeverMeltIce she'd been gifted before but had never used, it would be nice and cool for when Gold returned. "He's gonna hate us," Emerald snickered, taking out their note and rereading it quickly. _We thought you'd want some more homemade orange juice! Added a special ingredient, hope you like it! -Yellow and Emerald_

"That's fine. This is so different from what I normally hit him with, we can come back with the Jolly Rancher plan if we need to and he wouldn't suspect us." Jeez, Yellow could be ruthless sometimes. He respected that about her. It also served as a reminder to not get on her bad side. "Alright, I think we're done. One of us can call Crys on the way back."

He nodded, keeping the door partially open like it was when they got there. "Thanks again, Ms.- uh, Selene," he said with a wide smile. The picture of innocence, he was.

"Thanks for dropping by, I'm sure Gold will love his surprise." Something twinkled in her eyes, telling Emerald that she knew. He had no idea how, she just...did. Was that a mother superpower? "It was nice seeing both of you, feel free to come by any time!"

Maybe he'd take her up on that. He could see it in Yellow's face that she would. "How'd she figure it out?" he whispered to her once they were on their way to the Tohjo Falls again.

"Probably because she knows that I'm the one who pranks Gold." She shrugged it off easily. "According to her, he deserves it sometimes, especially when I tell her why."

Heh. Gold's own mother was essentially an accomplice. He stretched out, soaking up the sun while Yellow called Crys. It had been a while since he'd seen her face-to-face. Hopefully she wasn't too busy, even though he knew she had the tendency to overwork herself. Actually, he was glad she and Yellow were friends. Unwinding in the forest, he'd found, felt amazing.

"Good news," she said after hanging up, "Crys's workload is light, so she'll break for lunch when we get there."

"Perfect," he said, still staring at the sky. "Less work. Now all she has to do is sleep."

Yellow snorted. "I think I sleep enough for both of us."

Yeah, he didn't think anyone slept as much as Yellow did. Even now, under the warm sun, she started to yawn, curling into herself. "Hey, don't fall asleep on me now. I don't know where we're going."

She waved him off, hiding another yawn behind her hand. "Sorry, sorry, I'm not used to waking up so early." Eleven in the morning looked "early" for her as well. "I don't know how you can get up and be energized."

"I'm used to getting up with the sun. It's easy to do if you live outside."

That seemed to wake her up. "You what?"

"I like it. I have all the space I want." Besides, when it rained or something, he commandeered Ruby and Sapphire's not-so-secret hideout.

"I get wanting to be in nature, but- Emerald, why didn't you come earlier? You know you're welcome with me or Crys."

Like it hadn't crossed his mind before. "Don't wanna be a burden."

He could feel her eyes on him. "You realize I could legally adopt you, right? That's a thing I can do. I'm an adult."

...Maybe he could turn the conversation as they approached Pallet Town. "I think you'd have to fight Crys and several frontier brains for custody," he deadpanned.

"I don't think I'd have a problem fighting Crys. But Uncle Wilton could adopt you, like he adopted me. Then you really would be my brother." He tilted his face towards her out of curiosity. "...I never got out of the habit of calling him my uncle. Legally speaking, he's my dad."

Emerald sat up, looking at the rapidly-approaching region. "Oh, look, we're here." Well... of everyone he knew, Crys and Yellow were the closest he had to real family. It wouldn't be a tragedy to make it official.

Crys was already waiting for them when they got to the lab. "Well, if it isn't two of my favorite people!"

Yellow beamed. "C'mon, the three of us are getting lunch, my treat."

It was then that Emerald noticed the little things. The two of them lingering back a pace or two...locking pinkies...Yellow reaching up to kiss Crys's cheek…

"Oh, ew, you guys are dating!" He buried his face in his hands for a second. He just knew they were amused by this. "Yellow, you told me you wouldn't flirt with anyone!"

"Not flirting, just existing." She stuck her tongue out at him. That explained why she wouldn't need to fight Crys for custody...and he would be a fool for not considering it at all. He liked Yellow's uncle- dad- whoever, and would spending his time with the two of them or Crys or all three of them really be so bad?

He kicked a rock. "At least you two own up to being together unlike a certain dexholder I know and her girlfriend. It's infuriating even though they're together."

Crys made a small noise. "Finally. I was wondering when they were going to get their acts together."

Yellow coughed a little. "You told me it took you a couple years to ask me out."

Emerald dragged a hand down his face. "Oh, no, you're just as hopeless as they are!"

"Hey, I resent that comment!" Crys said, placing a hand over her heart dramatically. Now it was Emerald's turn to stick his tongue out at the two of them. They were definitely a lot less insufferable than Sapphire and Lisia, plus they weren't super obvious about their flirting. That was alright by him. "So! Tell me about the prank you two pulled on Gold."

**X-X-X**

It was safe to say that Gold was relieved nothing world-ending happened when he was on the Sevii Islands. Still, he was ready to drop when he got home.

So maybe he was a little confused when he didn't have as far to fall when he fell onto his bed. And that he banged his hand into his desk trying to put his bag on it.

Huh.

"Hey, Mom? Is there any chance I'm shrinking?"

She passed by his room with a basket of laundry, not pausing. "Not sure what you're talking about."

Right. He wasn't suddenly shrinking. That was impossible. He scratched his head as he turned back inside, finally noticing a bottle of orange juice on his desk. "Oh, heck yes!" He skimmed the note next to it before opening it and taking a sip-

-and spitting it right back out. "What the-" Yellow's orange juice was supposed to taste good, not like- like- whatever this was. The note slid off his desk, landing face down. He frowned down at it, picking it up.

_Hope you like mac-and-cheese flavored OJ. Have fun being short :-)_

Ah. That explained... yep, everything was raised a couple centimeters. He could learn from this experience and stop making so many short jokes. He probably would. They had a lot of fury stored in such small bodies.

It was best not to tempt fate. He didn't want to see what they could come back with... yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Emerald! I think he deserves some more appreciation, and I wanted more found family content, so this was born! I hope you enjoyed it, and a bit thank you to my friend Vex for beta reading!


End file.
